1. Spelling changes in the preterite

2. IN the preterite some –AR verbs have spelling changes only in the “yo” form

3. The first set of verbs end in the letters -CAR
Think of a verb that ends in -CAR? Write it down next to #1 on your worksheet

4. busqué buscamos buscaste buscó buscaron Verbs that end in -car c  qu
Verbs that end in -car, first-person singular of the preterite (the “yo” form). All other forms of these verbs are conjugated regularly.
c  qu
Example: buscar
busqué
buscamos
buscaste
buscó
buscaron
Busqué el programa en la tele.
I looked for the program on the TV.

5. Why does it change from –car to qué?
How do you pronounce the word “hace”?
How would you pronounce this word “toce”?
We want it to be pronounced as “toqué” so that it sounds like it comes from “tocar”. By changing the – car to qué, yo preserve the pronunciation of the verb.

6. #4 Conjugate the verb TOCAR in the preterite tense on #4 on your paper

7. tocar
toqué
tocamos
tocaste
tocó
tocaron

8. The second set of verbs end in -GAR
What verb can you think of that ends in –GAR? Write it down next to #5 on your worksheet

9. jugué jugamos jugaste jugó jugaron Verbs that end in -gar g  gué
Verbs that end in -gar, first-person singular of the preterite (the “yo” form). All other forms of these verbs are conjugated regularly.
g  gué
Example: jugar
NOTICE: there is no stem-change in the preterite for this verb.
There are stem-changing preterite verbs but we will learn them later.
jugué
jugamos
jugaste
jugó
jugaron
Jugué fútbol anoche.
I played soccer last night.

10. Why does it change from –gar to gué?
How do you pronounce the word “general”?
How would you pronounce this word “llegé”?
We want it to be pronounced as “llegué” so that it sounds like it comes from “llegar”. By changing the – gar to gué, yo preserve the pronunciation of the verb.

11. #8 Conjugate the verb llegar in the preterite tense on #8 on your paper

12. llegar
llegué
llegamos
llegaste
llegó
llegaron

13. The third set of verbs end in -ZAR
What verb can you think of that ends in –ZAR? Write it down next to #9 on your worksheet

14. almorcé almorzamos almorzaste almorzó almorzaron
Verbs that end in -zar
Verbs that end in -zar, first-person singular of the preterite (the “yo” form). All other forms of these verbs are conjugated regularly.
z  cé
NOTICE: there is no stem-change in the preterite for this verb.
There are stem-changing preterite verbs but we will learn them later.
almorcé
almorzamos
almorzaste
almorzó
almorzaron
Almorcé con Juan la semana pasada
I ate lunch with Juan last week.

15. Why does it change from –ZAR to “ce”
There is no reason – you just have to memorize it!

16. Conjugate the verb “empezar” next to #11 on your paper
Conjugate the verb “empezar” next to #11 on your paper. There is no stem-change!

17. empecé empezamos empezaste empezó empezaron empezar
NOTICE: there is no stem-change in the preterite for this verb.
There are stem-changing preterite verbs but we will learn them later.
empecé
empezamos
empezaste
empezó
empezaron